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Five reasons Twitterers make better employees

Many employers are fretting that Twitter — like email and The Google and The Interweb — are a drain on employees' time and attention, and generally a bad thing for business. Some companies have already taken to banning Twitter from the workplace: most notably, the White House (even though Twitter got the President elected), the Marine Corps (even though the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has 4,000 followers), and the Green Bay Packers (no wonder Brett Favre left).

But I take issue with that.

And I'll even go a step farther. I've met enough people in the Twitterverse to conclude that Twitterers make better employees. Let's call them tworkers, since Twitterers *heart* neologisms. And remember, I write from the perspective of a management employment lawyer.

Here then are five reasons, which are each — of course — Twitterable (in fact they're twooshes — exactly 140 characters long):

1. Tworkers are usually extroverts. They don’t shy away from attention and they like showing off. They understand their roles as performers.

2. Tworkers are interested in being part of a community, one they help build. They care about people, and they’re sharing and compassionate.

3. Tworkers are unafraid of trying new things, but not because something is a fad. They are always looking for a better way of doing things.

4. Tworkers have the ability to quickly make friends with strangers. They also know that what they say reflects upon them and their company.

5. Tworkers know how to express themselves concisely in plain English. They say what they mean. They get to the point without wasting words.

As an employer, and as an employment lawyer, these are qualities that I want to see in my workplace. Or tworkplace.

Employers: don't ban Twitter from the workplace. Instead, look for good tworkers.

Comments

i think this is great - thanks for sharing and writing it. i don't agere 100% though with point #1. have you ever been to a tweet up? you learn very quickly that there are a lot of introverts on twitter who find it as a safe means of communication and an easy way to put themselves out there. meet them in person? some are painfully shy, some can't hold a real conversation... it's interesting to say the least. but i'd reckon, it's a true mix of both.

Sorry, but I think you put on your rose-colored glasses and then decided to overgeneralize before writing this article. For each person that fits your description, I bet I could find another "Tworker" who fits the following:
1. narcissistic
2. overly developed and unrealistic sense of self-importance
3. able to be brief but not pithy
4. only able to speak truth behind mask of technology
5. easily distracted, unable to focus for long periods of time

I believe I fit much of your description pretty accurately, but I don't have any desire to Twitter (although I've been a member since the early onset.) I think it's interesting; however, I don't see why I should want to know if a friend of a friend is "hating her boss right now" or "taking a smoke break." Seems like a giant waste of time, mine and theirs, and thus, the company's.

Employers are skeptical about letting employees tweet because they are afraid of what they can't control and given their employees the freedom to voice their opinions about the company out into the world unedited is terrifying for them. But from my experience,if the company is organically sound and has a positive relationship and environment with it's employees, then it will only be giving voices to it's best ambassadors.

I love all 5 reasons but especially reasons #2 & #4. The amount of skills that one can acquire on Twitter is amazing. The ability to communicate and adapt to different situations and to analyze and strategically find solutions are only a few of the skills I gained and use everyday on Twitter.

I am very fortunate in that the agency I work for (@theyinspire) not only allows the use of Twitter among other social networks, but strongly encourages it. The work environment is very open and family like so our employers know that everything being tweeted is in good faith and an extension of that person and the company.As a result we have a group of very open, extroverted, social, time managing and dedicated employees.

I have to admit, I find this reasoning behind this post a little bizarre. So "tworkers" love neologisms, but can express themselves concisely in plain English? So if I walk up to someone and proclaim myself a "tworker," that's going to be readily understood?

And #1 implies that introverts and others who aren't attention-seeking performers are somehow bad employees? There are many, many professions out there for which a constant need for socialization is not necessarily a strong point. Sometimes, being able to stand the silence is a virtue as well.

As a small business owner savvy enough to keep tabs on all office computers, I see how much time is wasted online in social networks, sometimes 7 hours of an employee's 8-hour workday was dedicated updating their Facebook, Orkut, Tweeter accounts, responding personal emails and watching YouTube. When you are being paid to perform, you should earn your money, not make a company institute Big Brother policies to enforce performance. No one should be prohibited to do those things at work anyway, just do it during their break, which is mandated by law during specific times throughout the workday, free speech should protect the rest of employee's rights on this matter.

These are good points. Twitter can be an invaluable resource for information on the fly. I tweet from work and probably spend 15 minutes on the site during the workday - less time than a smoke or coffee break - and I'm usually learning something pertaining to my industry. A good employee is a good employee and access to a social network while at work will not hamper their productivity. Hire well and you won't be threatened by an employee's use of social media.

I agree with Natasha Kurtz that this list is artificially hyped up, in true Twitter fashion. One could easily turn a number of asserted benefits into realistic criticism about primadonna's who flock like lemmings to this meme or that while never engaging in productive activity beyond propping one another up.